LOCATION MAHONING OH+PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Aeric Epiaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Mahoning silt loam, on a northeast-facing convex slope of 2 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of 984 feet. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; moderate medium and fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Eg--7 to 9 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak thin platy; friable; common fine roots; common fine and medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulations in the matrix; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Btg--9 to 12 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium angular blocky; firm; common fine roots; about 10 percent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, mostly along prism faces; thin continuous grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on vertical faces of peds within prisms and as patchy clay films on horizontal faces of peds; few small pebbles; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt1--12 to 20 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; common fine roots along faces of prisms; thin continuous grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on vertical faces of peds and as thin patchy clay films on horizontal faces; 2 percent pebbles; many medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--20 to 30 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse angular blocky; firm; few fine roots; medium patchy grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films mainly on the vertical faces of peds; 2 percent pebbles; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 12 to 34 inches.)
BCt--30 to 36 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak thick platy; very firm; dense; very patchy thin grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on some vertical faces of peds; 5 percent pebbles; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
C--36 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam; massive, but parting to weak thick plate-like divisions; very firm; [dense;] common light gray (10YR 7/1) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) calcium carbonate accumulations in the matrix; 5 percent pebbles; common medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common black shale fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Lorain County, Ohio; Huntington Township; about three miles southeast of Weelington; 250 feet east of West Road, 130 feet south of railroad tracks. USGS Sullivan, OH topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees, 05 minutes, 52 seconds N. and longitude 82 degrees, 10 minutes, 48 seconds W. NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of the argillic horizon ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The solum thickness ranges from 28 to 44 inches. Depth to carbonates ranges from 20 to 42 inches. Rock fragments are glacial erratics, primarily of shale and siltstone with minor amounts of limestone and crystalline lithology. Cobblestones and boulders are present in some pedons.
The Ap horizon is has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. In uncultivated areas A horizons, 1 to 5 inches thick, have value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid. Areas that have been limed range to slightly alkaline.
The E horizon has value of 5 or 6, and commonly has redoximorphic features. It is silt loam or loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 5 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid.
Some pedons have B/E or BE horizons.
The Btg or Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay. The average clay content of the argillic horizon ranges from 35 to 45 percent. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid in the upper part and from moderately acid to slightly alkaline in the lower part.
The BC or BCg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline.
The C or Cg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is clay loam or silty clay loam with a clay content ranging from 27 to 40 percent. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline with a calcium carbonate equivalent ranging from 5 to 15 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bennington, Blount, Brockport, Caneadea, Churchville, Del Rey, Fulton, Lockport, Nappanee, Odessa, Pyrmont, Remsen, and Rhinebeck series. Bennington soils have rock fragments dominated by sandstone, shale, and crystalline lithology. Blount and Nappanee soils have calcium carbonate equivalent of more than 15 percent in the lower part of the series control section. Brockport soils have a lithic contact between 20 and 40 inches. Caneadea, Del Rey, and Fulton soils typically do not have rock fragments in the series control section. Churchville and Kimmel soils have densic contacts within the series control section. Remsen soils have a weighted clay content of more than 45 percent in the argillic horizon. Rhinebeck soils do not have rock fragments in some layers in the lower series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mahoning soils formed in low-lime till on till plains of Wisconsin age. The till is derived primarily from shale and siltstone, with minor amounts of limestone and crystalline erratics. Slope is primarily 0 to 6 percent, but ranges to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 34 to 43 inches, and the mean annual temperature ranges from 49 to 51 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the moderately well drained Ellsworth, the poorly drained Trumbull, and the very poorly drained Miner soils that form a toposequence with the Mahoning soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. A seasonal high water table is perched from .5 to 1 foot below the surface from November to June in most years. The potential for surface runoff is low to very high. Permeability is slow or very slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: A large proportion is under cultivation. Corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, meadow, and pasture are the principal crops. A sizeable acreage is still wooded with oaks, sugar maple, tulip poplar, ash, and beech the main species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania. MLRA's 100 and 139. The soil is of large extent, more than 450,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mahoning County, Ohio, 1917.
REMARKS: 1) The C horizon needs evaluation during MLRA update activities to determine if they meet the requirements for dense till.
2) The shale and sandstone substratum phases of the Mahoning series have bedrock that is at depths of 40 to 72 inches and are typically noncalcareous to bedrock. Textures of the C horizon are silty clay loam and silty clay and includes channery analogues. It is anticipated that these substratum phases will become new series during modernization projects. Data on clay mineralogy indicates 50 percent illite.
3) The series separation with Rhinebeck is very tenuous. More work is needed to define this separation.
4) Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in the typical pedon are:
a). ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 9 inches (Ap, E horizons);
b). argillic horizon - the zone from 9 to 30 inches (Btg, Bt1, Bt2 horizons);
c). aquic conditions - the zone from 7 to 60 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data is available for the following profiles sampled in Ohio: AB-58, GA-S19, ER-29, HU-E6, HU-S6, LK-16, LR-5, LR-7, LR-8 (location of the typical pedon), LR-16, LR-S3, LR-S6, MD-14, MH-18, MH-30, PG-S5, PG-S10, and ST-1.